Veronica anagallis-aquatica
Encyclopedia
Veronica anagallis-aquatica is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family
known by the common names water speedwell, blue speedwell, and brook pimpernel. Its true native range is not clear, but the plant is present on most continents, and in most places it is probably naturalized
. It occurs in many types of moist and wet habitat, and it is semi-aquatic
, often growing in shallow water along streambanks, in ponds, and in other wetland
environments. It is a rhizomatous
perennial herb with stems growing 10 centimeters to about a meter in maximum length. It may be decumbent, the stem spreading along the ground and rooting where it touches moist substrate, or erect in form. The oppositely arranged leaves are green, smooth-edged or toothed, and sometimes clasping the stem where the leaf pairs meet at the bases. The inflorescence
is a raceme
of many flowers arising from the leaf axils. Each flower is borne on a short, curving pedicel
. The flower corolla is up to a centimeter wide with four lobes, the upper lobe being widest. It is blue, lavender, or violet with purple lines near the base of each lobe. At the center are two small protruding stamen
s.
Plantaginaceae
Plantaginaceae Juss. or plantain family, are a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales. The type genus is Plantago L..In older classifications it used to be the only family of the order Plantaginales, but numerous phylogenetic studies, summarized by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, have...
known by the common names water speedwell, blue speedwell, and brook pimpernel. Its true native range is not clear, but the plant is present on most continents, and in most places it is probably naturalized
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
. It occurs in many types of moist and wet habitat, and it is semi-aquatic
Aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or aquatic macrophytes. These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface. Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is...
, often growing in shallow water along streambanks, in ponds, and in other wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
environments. It is a rhizomatous
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
perennial herb with stems growing 10 centimeters to about a meter in maximum length. It may be decumbent, the stem spreading along the ground and rooting where it touches moist substrate, or erect in form. The oppositely arranged leaves are green, smooth-edged or toothed, and sometimes clasping the stem where the leaf pairs meet at the bases. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
of many flowers arising from the leaf axils. Each flower is borne on a short, curving pedicel
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
. The flower corolla is up to a centimeter wide with four lobes, the upper lobe being widest. It is blue, lavender, or violet with purple lines near the base of each lobe. At the center are two small protruding stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s.